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Thursday, January 26, 2023

"Cover Girl" by New Kids on the Block

Top 10 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Song#:  4037
Date:  09/16/1989
Debut:  62
Peak:  2
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Pop


Pop Bits:  Although the group's second album Hangin' Tough had already generated four Pop Top 10 hits including a pair of #1s, there were no signs of it slowing down. Therefore this fifth single was issued out. It was the right choice as the song took off and nearly topped the Pop chart. It would also do well enough to become the group's third gold single (they also earned a platinum single with the album's #1 title track). The hit would help sell more albums and by the end of '89 Hangin' Tough would reach the seven-million mark (7x platinum).

ReduxReview:  The Kids were so popular that their label chose to promote this single and "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)," a track from their debut album, as the same time. Both songs would debut on the Pop chart in the same week. It was an unusual tactic and one that other artists/labels have tried to avoid due to the potential of over saturating the market and tiring out listeners. Yet the label decided to strike while the iron was hot and it ended up paying off with both singles going Top 10. I was definitely not a fan of "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)" as it didn't suit the Kids. However, this track was more inline with what I would expect from a young pop boy band. It was bubblegum-y, cheezy, catchy ear candy loaded with enough saccharine to give you a headache. Their fans ate it up and gave the group another gold record. While in general I didn't really care for the tune, it was a good vehicle for the Kids even though it would mostly be forgotten not long after its chart run.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  The lead vocals on this track were handled by Donnie Wahlberg. While Wahlberg would tour and record with NKOTB over the years, he pretty much changed his day job to acting. His first film appearance came with the 1996 crime drama Bullet. Wahlberg would appear in more movies and along the way branch out into TV. Two notable roles came his way. First as a patient of Bruce Willis' character in the 1999 hit psychological thriller The Sixth Sense. Then in the 2001 Emmy-winning miniseries Band of Brothers. Wahlberg would star in a couple of TV series that would last a season or less, but he finally landed a hit show in 2010 with CBS's Blue Bloods. He would portray Detective Danny Reagan and has stayed with the show since its debut. As of this posting date, the show is still running on CBS and is in its thirteenth season.

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